Turn the River was my favorite film of the festival and one of my favorites of the year so far (along with In Bruges and The Bank Job). It's the directing and writing debut of actor Chris Eigeman (who I think I last saw in Barcelona) and I hope he makes many more films.
Famke Janssen plays Kailey Sullivan, a card shark and pool hustler in upstate New York. Her 11 year-old son Gulley (Jaymie Dornan) lives with her ex-husband David (Matt Ross) in Manhattan. David has no idea that Kailey keeps in touch with Gulley through letters and secret meetings in Central Park.
The first two scenes show Kailey in a poker game and then meeting Gulley. These perfectly establish her as somewhat flawed and wanting the best for her son. We instantly care about her and it's due to Janssen's genuine portrayal. She decides to run away with Gulley but first needs to raise $60,000 for fake passports. Her mentor Teddy Quinette (a perfectly bluff Rip Torn) runs a pool hall, helps her find marks and gives her a place to crash. The pool playing is good but not overdone. The story is about Kailey not specifically a hustle, and I wasn't sure how some of the games would turn out.
Eigeman and Janssen were at the screening and answered questions. The budget was just $500,000. Janssen did do her own pool shots but only had time to learn specific shots. The big one she made on the first take. Gully is named after Gulley Jimson from the novel The Horse's Mouth by Joyce Cary which was made into a film in 1958 written by and starring Alec Guinness.
This was just a really good movie with an engrossing story, great acting, tight filmmaking and a good soundtrack. Some may be disappointed in the ending, but it all worked for me. I'm not sure that it's getting a theatrical release which is a shame but it seems the DVD comes out July 22, 2008.
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